Wizard of the Ring
by ExRevolution
Summary: An ancient prophecy is all it takes to change anyone's destiny, especially an unborn child. In the future, Harry Potter has no idea of his future but he will fight through manipulative leaders of light, see through lies, and destroy his enemy since time immemorial.
1. The Past, Present, and Future

A/N: Well, I don't actually know how this story will turn out but I will actually do some story-plotting this time so that I do not feel the need to just scrap my stories as usual. Also it's a rehash? Of my old story NeoCast, changing a lot of things in this story so don't worry, it'll be at least 5000 words+ per chapter so there'll be a lot more to read than usual, at least for this chapter will be told in... 2nd or 3rd person (obviously) unless the people themselves are talking. Also all rights belong to J.K. Rowling and any other possible owners... HERE IT IS ~ !

**_The Past, Present, and Future _**

_"Merlin, I need to ask you something," A voice spoke aloud. It sounded deep and rather harsh but those who knew the speaker would know that he was full of kindness and nothing else. "This is important and you know I would not want to waste your precious time otherwise."_

_Sighing, Merlin turned from his task of ritual carving and stood up. He turned around and looked at the powerful tall young man garbed in royal blue robes lined with black silk. He himself was dressed up in pure white robes which were also oddly clear of dust or grime as they were in the deepest floor of the small castle manor they had inhabited which was never kept clean. "I've told you time and time again Cicero, you have always only come to me with important information or questions, never once have you asked me that which wastes either of our times, please, what is your question?"_

_"You know I have been researching to look into the far future with magics and technology alike and have not produced results." Cicero spoke quickly. "However I finally acquired what I've been looking for, albeit in a rather odd way. I was experimenting with my spells and machinery when an explosion occurred. However instead of the usual fire and lost limbs explosions are known for, I was hit with pure magical energy. I was knocked to the ground but I had not noticed this, instead what I saw was the future, and I knew it was so, it wasn't instinct, it was... knowledge." Merlin nodded for Cicero to continue. _

_"This knowledge told me that this would truly be the last great magical war that occurs on this planet, the last which destroys multiple kingdoms both magical and... non-magical? That wasn't so clear, that doesn't matter. Anyhow this war tells of a tale where a boy is cursed when he is just a wee little baby by the darkest wizard of the century. And so his life is destroyed and he is brought up by terrible non-magicals. However when he attends this famous magical school, he begins a battle with said dark wizard for the next 7 years. At this point everything is unclear because it is still undecided, the battle and its history is unclear to me except for the duration of time..." He continued to speak as though Merlin weren't there but they both knew he was about to finish his monologue and begin with the question. He had also noticed that Merlin's eyes widened in surprise when told of this war but he said nothing about this._

_"I want to aid this boy against this evil, and I was hoping you'd assist me, just one task is all I ask of you. Will you transform me into a weapon which will only be revealed to this boy and no other? I will have to withstand the many centuries or many millennia before I reach this boy but I will do what I must in order to live that long." Cicero wanted to beg, to do anything to convince Merlin to do this, but he knew how strict the old wizened sorcerer was and so thought he'd deny this request.  
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_Sighing once again, Merlin conjured up 2 chairs which he thought he should have done since the beginning of this conversation and gestured for Cicero to sit. "Now you know how strict I am," Merlin said slowly, "But I sense your urgency and I have been expecting this for some time as I too had a vision a while ago that showed me the same of which you have spoken and so I have been drawing up this ritual in preparation." He smiled a little, "I'm going to assist you and more than this, I will even assist the boy." Cicero's face widened into the greatest smile he'd ever seen from this man, especially as he had never smiled again since his wife Varinia had died many years ago just after their bonding ritual. "I am also agreeing because of your past, you are my greatest friend and supporter, I do not wish to see you go but this is what you truly want is it not?" he nodded. _

_"Please wait outside while I complete this drawing. Once I have finished, I shall call you back and we will begin this ritual." Merlin said.  
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_"Oh thank you Merlin! If I could ever pay you back like this I would, when we both pass, I shall see you in the heavens!" With that, Cicero jumped up, hugged Merlin, and rushed out the room while conjuring the chairs away. Merlin could have laughed at the way he bolted from the room at never-before-seen breakneck speeds especially as they were both sorcerers, mages, magic craftsman and did not bother with running or rather any sort of strenuous physical activity. _

_Merlin's genuine smile was replaced by sadness, both he and Cicero knew that this ritual was the only one that could accomplish what Cicero had asked for and would only last until he, Cicero, would believe that his task was well and truly over, and then he would disappear forever, never entering the heavens nor even the dark void, just... gone._

_Merlin continued to draw up the ritual symbols, the last of which consisted of a sword, a shield, and an orb that was marked with 3 diamonds in a pattern almost flower-like._

_..._

_He began channeling a small yet steady stream of simply pure magic energy into the ritual drawing when he called the man in, "Cicero, are you ready? Come in please, and stand in the center, good bye.."_

_Cicero opened the door slowly and stood in the center of the ritual. "Good bye, Merlin." _

_Merlin continued to channel the energy into the ritual except it had now become a heavy torrent. He sharply cut off the supply when he felt the ritual had enough energy to begin. Merlin proceeded to set upon the drawing several ingredients. Freely given dragon scales, freely given phoenix feathers, freely given unicorn tail hairs. He then placed these items onto their respectively important areas of the ritual as designated by the symbols drawn upon them, he then drew the ritual again except with salamanders' blood over the existing one.  
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_The magic energy he had placed upon the ritual had activated the moment the last bloodline was drawn, a small, bearable glowing light began to shine._

_Merlin closed his eyes and began to speak the words of power, "**Cicero Aelius Titus, Master of Healing, Grand Sorcerer of the Isles, Researcher of the Sight, into the future you have seen, a future event of which a Great War occurs, you wish to assist in turning the outcome of the war for those who follow the light. The bright moon, uncovering the ever brightening Mars, Neptune chasing after the unknown. Time will change, history different, you shall sleep until you're called, shall you ever break your oath, shall you ever step on your own tongue will be the time when you are sent to the vast loneliness of the ever growing power of the void. Do you accept these conditions? **_

_Merlin had spoken these words with complete seriousness and sadness as the ritual had required the purpose of the one in the center, and then if the ritual was stopped with a declination, Cicero would die but he would be sent to the heavens. Both knew that this was a one way trip, either death or eternal dark loneliness._

_With a burning fierceness and the heart seeming that of a lion, Cicero shouted, **"I ACCEPT!" **_

**_Upon these words, the ritual flashed and grew brighter and brighter. A sound like storm winds began to rush in the room. In one instant, Cicero began to transform, turning into true essence where he began to mix with the essences of the scales, feathers, and the hairs. The light then lifted off the ritual as with the blood and surrounded the one essence that was floating where Cicero used to stand and became a sphere. Blood and light, each rolling along as if they were friends, and then one flash of the light signaled the end._**

_In the next instant, all that was left __lying upon the empty floor of the dusty and dirty ritual room __was a deadly bladed silver ring with gold patterns detailing those of the great power held by those of dragons, the eternal life of phoenixes, and the immense healing of unicorns._

_Merlin looked at the ring, it shook a little, glowed with a little light, and then it stopped and all was silent, the wind rush stopped, and the deadly ring silent and still, waiting to be held by its master._

_"Good bye, Cicero..." Merlin said. _

_He conjured up a small onyx black box, placed the ring into it, and sealed it._

_He then began to cast a spell **Tempore Tractus! Prophets of the Spirits, Warriors of Good Will, Soldiers of Desperation hear my call, upon this world a war shall fall, that last of Great Dark wars shall be fought, the head of the resistance, a mere child, the head of the dark sorcerers, more powerful than my cousin and enemy Morgana Le Fay, grant me the power and time to train, so he who shall win, shall destroy the darkness which grips the land in its crushing hold **This was a spell/ritual which would create a virtual plane of land which was suspended in time where he would find the boy he saw, the boy that Cicero had talked about, and then train him, train him to be ready for the world of magic, to be ready for war. The last word left his mouth and in a sudden blurring of his vision he found himself in a dark place, he was confronted by a voice. _

_"**Merlin Ambrosius, Myrddin Emrys, Grand Master Sorcerer of the Isles,of the Burning and Frozen Lands, Prophet of the Light, Sealer of the Dark Arts, Leader of the Mages and Defeater of Morgana in the Equilibrium War, you seek to set a world in a future time, to train one of unclear destiny towards the path of victory so that he may not experience the dark forces and the eternal void left by dark arts. To create a world such as this is allowed only once and if done so in life ever again, you shall be eradicated, good luck sorcerer. **_

_The dark place began to melt like candle wax before his eyes and before he knew it, he was on land again._

_..._

_It was vast, there was a sun, but it was not hot, simply illuminating the world. It was grassy, there were groves of enormous trees, pine, oak, willow touching the skies. And a large amount of blank stone in another area. Merlin began to chant spells, bright, instant flashes of light, loud rumbles, the landscape began to change, a huge group of the large grove of trees disappeared, a large area of the stone area also disappeared. In huge separate piles, the wood and stone materials appeared, waiting to be molded. _

_"I need to teach this child the basic knowledge of magic, wandless, willed, conjuration, transfiguration, charms, hexes, curses, potions, rituals, and defense and offense of the mind. There is far too much knowledge to teach in a short amount of time so I shall make sure the stasis upon this world is permanent until the task is done." Merlin said aloud to himself. He then muttered a few words and everything seemed to freeze yet he was still able to move around, it felt hard to but it was also easier than a simple walk in the park. "I think I should get started on a window, I have to observe and gain more knowledge by the time I get him here..."  
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_Almost over-dramatically, Merlin waved his arms around, causing the piled materials to form a small room on the very edge of this boxed world. He then formed a chair and left it by the entrance of the observation lab. _

_Thinking about the amount of room he'd need, he organized the categories of magic required to teach the boy. "Wandless and willed shall be a simple no furniture open-platform, transfiguration and conjuration are similar in some aspects so they shall be put in another room, I should also probably create chairs and desks. The next are charms, hexes, and curses. They will need a large room for training and a slightly smaller room for the non physical learning as well. Potions and rituals shall go in a fairly large room probably by those trees over there but we also need a river nearby so..." Merlin began to will up a ditch in the ground which he lengthened until it reached from one end of the land to the other. He then cast a rather powerful water spell, more powerful than the average aguamenti._

_"Fluvio Amnis!" He shouted, with a flick and a rather hard jab, a raging torrent of water sprayed out of the man's wand, crashing upon the dry lifeless ditch and filled up the whole river area within minutes. Most of the areas he had planned for all of them to be in close proximity, the trees and the river itself were no more than a five minute walk from the observation lab. I suppose I won't need to make anymore rooms, the platform for willed and wandless magic should be more than sufficient to take care of relaxation of the mind, defense, and offensive intrusion of the mind. _

_He took a look around and sighed, "Well I better get back to work, I have an eternity to wait anyways." And with that he set to work. With one hand he set up the platform, wood and stone swirling together like a tornado before setting down 5 meters in the air with a staircase attached from the ground up. In the other hand he had also made a storm of wood and stone smashing against each other splintering and cracking into a million different pieces with hurricane winds roaring and explosions booming. When the chaos was over and set down, in its place was a beautiful smooth a pattern of nearly empty except for the half sized room for a regular written class._

_For the charms, hexes and curses, he created another platform near the mind magicks platform except spelled so it wouldn't take any damage and it was four times as large as the first. He then affixed pieces of wood and stone in random areas on the platform and transfigured them to look like trees, boulders, and caves. He also transfigured the top layers of the platform to have a grassy, dirty, and also a rocky terrain to make dueling more difficult, he left a small area bare for spell testing before arriving on the true field._

_Then, by the designated potions and rituals area, he set up divided platforms, potions closer to the water, rituals set up higher in the air, suspended and immobile, connected by the steep steps from the potions lab. He then proceeded to transfigure the wooden floor into stone as rituals would tend to release a certain amount of heat that could burn wood but obviously not stone. The rituals taught to the boy would only be done on inanimate objects as they tended to destroy, maim, incapacitate, permanent transformations (dangerous and extremely hindering), timed explosions and other extremely destructive and painful rituals. The ones designed to improve health, strength, or magical would be self taught. _

_He then thought about Cicero, feeling a pang of sadness caused a rather long moment of immobilization. Tears threatening to burst forth, Cicero was one of his few friends, they had grown up together in the same run down, crime and disease rampant city, surviving off theft and violence until several wizards traveling there discovered Merlin's immense talent and power when he had blasted several rogues and bandits all the way across the dirt road when Cicero was nearly killed by a sharp bone dagger thrown by the leader of the criminals chasing them. He had seen the dagger spinning and it had cut his friend across the back, blood spurting from the initial hit and then it began to spill from his body. Merlin had felt rage like never before up to the day burning up within him and with a swipe of his hands, a heavy slicing wind sent them flying and bleeding all the way back across the road and into, almost ironically, into the "bounty hunter" office. Cicero lay bleeding on the ground, twitching and breathing hard, smiling at Merlin, glad to have known him and was about to say his goodbyes to his magical friend when the wizards stepped up and healed his wounds, giving him a blood replenishing potion as well. The wizards waited a moment while Cicero got up as they figured that the pair would be inseparable. _

_"Follow us." They had said. He remembered that their voices were full of kindness or at least he had thought they were going to mug them after they were out of sight from the public eye. They reached a very secluded, empty populated area. The wizards then turned to Merlin and said, "We had been told by the heavens that a powerful young man would be here today, and he would be a very important person in the next century. We believe that you are the one that the heavens spoke of."_

_Merlin was speechless, this made no sense, he had never sensed any power from himself except for when he was so enraged a little over ten minutes ago. _

_Cicero was happy but also sad. His friend would probably get to leave this god forsaken place but then both of them would be alone, no friends, nothing but hardships and worse for Merlin._

_Cicero was in luck however as the heavens also spoke of him too but everything was unclear except that he would become a very useful asset in a coming war, they just never knew nor said when, however it would also decide the fate of the world but it had so few answers that they felt obliged to ignore it. They obviously didn't know that the one regarding Cicero would be referencing what they were doing now. He would still be trained just the same as Merlin once they found their separate talents and skills. _

_Taking a very deep breath, Merlin let it go in a huge sigh saying, "I guess I may as well make a weapon training platform or something." And so he did, creating a replica of the spell dueling lab and placed the platform next to that one._

_Merlin had finished his task fairly quickly, many decades of training and practice gave him the skills of a god, or at least as god-like as it was possible for a human. He walked over to the window which allowed him to read the "future" and within that room it would record everything to his mind. _

_He placed himself within a sleep-state yet he would be conscious for the coming years, sped up as it were, viewing the time pass by in mere minutes yet feeling eternity press itself down upon the dormant mind._

**-(^-^-) (l^-^l) (-^-^)-**

It was night time, or at least he thought it was, it had been weeks since he had been out of the house so his perception of the world was just blank nothingness, with nothing but the second-hand, over sized clothing on his body and his thoughts.

He had grown rather mature over this time, he had no idea when he'd be out, and finally get a more than 'okay' meal. Or when he'd get another bath, he never could smell his 'natural' scent. He always thought it was rather odd the way his aunt and uncle had emphasized that word whenever they were talking to or about him. Whenever his "family" had let him out of the house, he tried to find the library which he knew was within a fifteen minute walking distance but he didn't know the location.

He had only figured out that going in the direction that the house faced was a useless endeavor and he had spent the first week and a half of "summer vacation" searching. Nevertheless, he knew he'd end up at the place soon, a new family had moved into the neighborhood just before he was locked in his room and he knew the Dursleys would never talk to the other neighbors unless they presented themselves first. In the time that he'd been locked up, he knew they had not visited nor had the Dursleys left him alone in the house to visit them as their pride and arrogance were far too high-set. He also knew on many occasions that the strange happenings around him caused them to hate him even though he had no idea why.

He, Harry, an eight year old boy, was determined to find out more about the world and the strangeness that was always linked to him and only him, never before seen except once when he ran into a rather short adult male dressed in strange clothing who he saw bow to him once while in a store. He assumed that man had a link to the strangeness in any case, as he saw no one else ever dressed like that before except when it was Halloween and Dudley and his friends tried to scare him by wearing cloaks and pointed blue hats with gold stars on them and telling him they'd turn him into a frog and feed it to a dog or some animal.

_The first occurrence of this was last year when he and Dudley were 7. They tied him to a bench at 9 in the morning where no one would be and proceeded to wave tree branches and screech gibberish in his face, it reduced him to tears and he truly believed that they would do so but every couple hours when they did this, he realized they were not serious in turning him to a frog and feeding him to some carnivorous beast but were serious in that they wanted to scare him until he lost control of his bladder. In the midst of the 3rd time at dusk on the 31st, he realized they were not going to do anything to him, however he also knew that if nothing happened they'd beat him up. After half an hour of trying to scare him, they realized Harry wasn't going to soil himself and so they picked him up and was about to punch him in the face, pulling back the fist that would probably break his already taped up glasses. He wished in that instant that they all just felt dizzy and would leave him alone for the rest of the day, hoping they wouldn't blame him if one of those strange moments happened again._

_"Let's play Harry Hunting!" Dudley said, pulling his chubby small fist back. His friend Piers Polkiss and the few others who decided they liked Dudley and followed him were holding him up for Dudley's first hit. After that they'd let Harry try and run which often worked against them because he was skinny but fast unlike the most of them who were rather large because their parents continued to spoil them and give them whatever they asked, especially Dudley who was the largest of them all. Dudley was about to force his tiny fat fist forward when he noticed Harry closing his eyes and breathing, almost like resignation. He didn't register that this was not like all the other times._

_Harry's wish left his mind, nothing felt any different to him, he just hoped it wouldn't hurt as bad as it had the last 20 times he'd been hit in the head._

_Dudley threw his fist forward and was half way towards Harry when the air around him felt a little thicker, it got hotter as well causing sweat to break out. Soon after, his vision blurred and the ground felt like it was tilting to either side of him. He looked around and his friends were experiencing the same as him but he didn't dwell on it too long. He then looked at Harry who was lying on the ground, stock still. He then decided today was not the best of days to pick on Harry, besides they were supposed to go house to house demanding candy from strangers. He weakly called to his friends and they just as weakly joined up with them, all deciding they wouldn't hurt Harry just this one time for the rest of the day. As they walked back to Dudley's house to hang out until Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia accompanied them for the rest of the evening, their heads cleared, the temperature went back to normal, and the dizziness disappeared._

_Harry felt himself dropped to the ground, rather roughly. He heard the groans of the boys who were hurting him. He opened his eyes they were holding their heads and sweat was forming everywhere on them. He closed his eyes at this point and just hoped they'd leave. After a few minutes, his wish did come true but he wasn't sure why. He opened his eyes, shaking a little. He went and sat on the bench he was tied to earlier and relaxed. He looked at the sky. Several clouds lined the sky, it didn't look like it would rain but its presence was felt anyways. The sun set was just barely beginning but it looked nice. He closed his eyes again, not in anticipation, but just to listen to the world's noise._

_A light breeze picked up blowing across the ground, leaves tumbling through the air. "This feels nice," Harry said. He didn't know how long he was there but then he heard the voices of the other children, excited for some candy on this great day. He wished he could join them but the Dursleys' spread too many rumors and so everyone in the neighborhood hated him, including the children. Thinking it was right to go back to the Dursley house before they could ridicule and throw things at him, he very carefully made his way back. _

_He wanted to know why Dudley's gang left him alone, he was going to find answers but he knew it would probably not happen if even the Dursleys didn't know. He would begin looking for the library which he heard was near the area. _

He thought about why he was locked in there. Just a while ago, they had a test at school and Harry worked really hard on it, the grades came back about and Harry got a fairly high score. He saw this and enthusiastically showed his aunt and uncle thinking they'd be proud. Instead when he saw their expressions go sour and Vernon turned purple, his vein pulsing in his temple, he knew that day would not be nice, especially when Dudley ended up having a near failed grade. **"YOU MUST HAVE CHEATED BOY, YOU MUST HAVE DONE IT SO OUR LITTLE TYKE WOULD BARELY PASS AND YOU WOULD! IF YOU DIDN'T CHEAT HE WOULD HAVE PASSED WITH A HIGHER GRADE UNLIKE YOU!" **Vernon yelled. Aunt Petunia then screeched her own verbal punishment which hurt Harry's ears.

"YOU WILL NOT MAKE OUR CHILD STUPID BECAUSE YOU ARE A CHEATER YOU FREAK!"

Harry felt tears begin to form on his eyes, threatening to burst. This happened once before and he thought they would get over it but it was obvious their opinion that his cousin Dudley was smarter than him, their freak. Their opinion that the only way he could get a higher grade in anything was because he cheated or used his freakishness on him.

Vernon lifted him up and laughed at how Harry looked embarrassed and about to cry then growled, "You listen here boy, you will go in your closet until we think to let you out, no freakishness to get out or else!"

He then roughly opened the cupboard door under the stairs and threw Harry in there.

Vernon then laughed, turned to Petunia and said, "So I heard there are new neighbors in this town, if they are nice then they should visit us first or else they don't deserve our great gifts of kindness." He then looked at Harry's report on the floor, picked it up and then shredded it before throwing it in the trash bin in the backyard. He then took Dudley's after congratulating his child with Petunia and cooking up a great meal and placed it upon the fridge.

**-(^-^-) (l^-^l) (-^-^)-**

Harry was bored, he was fed, he went to the bathroom, but then he was immediately locked back in his cupboard. He had nothing to do, no books to read, nothing to study or learn, no games to play or television to watch. He was bored. He figured he'd be let out eventually as the longest he'd ever be locked up for was a month and he figured it was about two weeks later after his punishment had started so it would or should almost be August at this point. Outside his cupboard he heard talk about a cruise trip that the Dursleys' would be taking and they had no choice but to bring him along because Ms. Figg would be out of town and no one else would want to take him in for that time. He knew no other details but he hoped he'd be able to have a good enough time without his horrible strange happenings.

All of a sudden his door opened and bright light streamed into the otherwise dark cupboard under the stairs. "Boy! Get your stuff packed now! And no freakishness when we're out there! We're leaving in 1 week." His Uncle Vernon growled. He then left the door open because he had some business to take care of at his drill company Grunnings. His aunt and uncle prepared for this moment in case it ever actually happened and gave him his own shorts and t-shirts but just enough so he wouldn't look out of place. He had a rather worn trunk but it functioned well enough just like everything else he owned. In a matter of minutes he was done. His so called family was busy, Dudley was watching TV, his Aunt Petunia was taking a nap in her room, and Uncle Vernon was off to work so he took a fairly quick shower and headed out. He then took out a few snacks, tossed one to Dudley who was about to fall asleep on the couch. It hit Dudley in the head who woke up and said 'thanks' without realizing who gave it to him and how out of character that one word was. Harry was out the door before anybody noticed. He had checked the time, it was just about noon.

He walked around the area for about twenty minutes just enjoying the sun, the light breeze, and the near clear sky. He noticed a car driving up and slowing down. The window was rolled down and a voice said to him, **"Excuse me, excuse me do you know where the library is?"**

**A/N: Sorry I updated just this chapter, I realized I had created a plot hole with the second chapter that is almost finished so please just be patient with me, thank you.**


	2. Discovery

A/N: Enjoy? Also all rights belong to J.K. Rowling and any other owners. Oh and depending on how well you guys notice and understand subtlety, you'll know what this chapter is talking about, once it becomes more clear I'll talk about it. I also can't wait until the magic part where I can stop calling the damn thing strangeness, maybe I should do that but pretend like it's not actually that. (I apologize for not being descriptive enough, first true fanfic upload) I'm also sorry that there isn't actually much dialogue but it's easier for me to do thoughts that actual conversation.

**_Discovery_**

**"Excuse me, exc****_use me do you know where the library is?" _**

Harry was looking around, he didn't see anyone so he guessed the voice (which sounded feminine) was talking to him. He replied, "No I don't, I'm looking for it too."

He decided to look a little more closely in the car and saw a family inside, in the back was one child who looked about eight years old, and in the front seats was the driver, the father he supposed, and the mother, the voice who spoke out to him. "Oh, alright then. We're going to go around the neighborhood until we find it, you're welcome to join us if you'd like."

The mother was thinking the boy looked rather sad, second-hand, worn down. He sounded nice enough and she knew her husband wouldn't object, they had done so for their now best friends. The man and woman waited for his answer while the child just looked at him with bored curiosity, there was just something about him that seemed familiar.

Almost coughing at their kindness, Harry just nodded, not trusting the words that would've come out of his mouth otherwise. The door opened and he got into the car.

He was sitting beside the kid who was the same age as him and he noticed she was giving an almost wide-eyed curious look, it was as though she knew about the strangeness that followed him everywhere. He decided to store that information in some memory bank in his brain for later in case it revealed itself to be true. The girl had platinum blonde hair that fell in waves to her waist area (at least he thought it was but he didn't know anatomy and figured the waist was somewhere near the stomach) and piercingly blue eyes. That's all he noticed until the woman turned around in her seat, noticing the curious looks the two children shared had decided to break up the awkwardness by asking, "Oh, sorry for my rudeness but what is your name?"

Stuttering and in a pitch higher than he would've liked, Harry said, "I-I-I'm Harry Potter ma'am!"

Holding back a laugh, the father turned around in his seat, looked at Harry and said, "Greetings Harry, this must be a little awkward in a stranger's car, I am John Taylor, oh and no need for honorifics like sir or ma'am but you can say them if you wish."

"As my husband said, no need for them but you can if you want, my name is Elizabeth Taylor, fortunately for us we both had the same last name before marriage, isn't that right honey?" She said looking at her husband, he nodded in agreement.

The husband/father/man then gestured to his daughter and said, "And Ali? Introduce yourself please."

"H-hi Harry? I'm Allison!" She blushed then turned away, also embarrassed by her stuttering outburst. She managed to calm herself down and then said, "We moved to this town a few weeks ago! Mommy said we could go to the library because I like books and she likes books!"_  
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John faked an offended-look and said, "Hey! What about me Ali?"

Allison shook her head and said, "Daddy you said you like sports! You said you don't like books!" John laughed, turned back around and began to drive. They passed the Dursley house and Harry sunk into his seat, the seat belt restricting his moment. Allison looked at Harry, a small frown forming but decided to not ask any questions. Elizabeth on the other hand thought differently.

"What's the matter Harry?" Her natural instincts of a mother was taking control and she worried for the worn-down child with insanely messy black hair and striking green-eyes. He kept a wary eye on the house. He raised his hand and messed his hair up, taking care to hide the noticeable scar on his forehead. None of the Taylors' had noticed it though.

Harry was panicking, even though they had now passed the Dursley house a minute ago, he was worried they would run into his aunt or uncle eventually and then he'd not even be allowed to leave on the cruise because he met the new neighbors first. He spoke quietly in reply, "Nothing is wrong Mrs. Taylor..."

Something seemed to be really wrong but Elizabeth decided to not pry into his life, at least for the moment. The silence that filled the car afterward was suffocating to all of them, Allison noticing nothing but the silence decided to make noises but it became so heavy that even she quieted down. John decided enough was enough and stopped the car, he said "I'll be back in a few minutes." They saw him walking up to some of the neighbors and appeared to be having a conversation with them. True to his word, John returned back to the car in a few minutes with a slight smile on his face. He said, "I found out where the library is, it's twelve streets across the playground." The tension broken, John began to tell kid-friendly jokes causing them all to laugh.

**-(^-^-) (l^-^l) (-^-^)-**

Harry felt happy, he had been shown kindness, he thought he had a friend now in Allison who he hoped wouldn't get her and her parents' minds changed by the neighborhood's poisonous rumors. In the last five minutes, the car quieted down with a peaceful silence. He enjoyed being in their company, it had been the best 20 minutes of his life thus far.

He leaned his head back against the seat, staring at the sky out of the corners of his eyes. He had worried when they passed by the house that his relatives would find him with the new neighbors but then he remembered that when Aunt Petunia took naps, they were legendary. They would transition from hour naps to full-out sleeping. For Uncle Vernon, when he left the house in the morning, his gigantic form took until 9 o' clock to get back home. He thought about his cousin who took after his father. Dudley didn't care about Harry in any way except when Harry tried to escape from his painful punches.

Harry enjoyed seeing the sky. It was bright blue with clouds that appeared to be gathering, the ever-present threat of rain beginning to loom out from the darkness. The sun shone brightly, blasting through the clouds like the water in rapids as if a deity was descending from the heavens. In what felt like a moment, the car stopped and Harry was shaken out of his stupor because Allison was saying, "Harry we're here," repeatedly.

"What? Oh okay." He said. His emerald green eyes staring at the library. Above the archway-like appearance was a sign that had the word _**LIBRARY**_in bold black letters. It was made of bricks with an almost medieval style design. Harry got out of the car and walked with them to just outside the entrance of the library when he said, "Thank you so much for the ride Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, this is where we'll see each other for the last time today, there is no need to drive me back home."

Mister John Taylor was a rather busy man so he didn't have much time to talk to the neighbors so he devoted his time to his wife and child. He did however hear from Elizabeth about how the neighborhood thought badly of Harry because of what the Dursleys' (His guardians) said about him. Even worse was the fact that the other children bullied him in school, especially the Dursleys' son Dudley who was the worst of them all. They were shocked to find out that everyone believed the Dursleys even though they had never met nor spoke with Harry. The neighborhood's attitudes toward Harry were the same towards their dearest daughter Allison when they found her doing magic, MAGIC of all things, it was so unbelievable but for some reason they wanted to burn her at the stake. It was made so believable when all their neighbors and friends going to the store to get ropes and matches. The last straw was when their house got vandalized that they had to leave quietly in the night although it didn't matter since everyone kept a very careful eye out for them. They supposed Harry was the same if all they ever got were horrible rumors about him even if they didn't know if he actually had magical powers or anything. "Are you sure about this Harry?" John said, his worry expressing itself in his tone.**  
><strong>

"Yes I'm sure, I'm alright, no need to worry about me," Harry quickly said. His emerald green eyes turned to look at each and every one of them. Allison only saw the boy she just met just barely an hour ago but John and Taylor saw a cry for help. He quickly turned away, pulled the door open and then ran inside. He didn't even wait for them. He was thinking that if people saw him interacting with the Taylors', then they would also pick on them as well and he didn't want that for them.

"Come on Ali, let's find you some books!" Elizabeth said, trying to break up the suffocating atmosphere that followed Harry's departure.

They opened the door only to bump into an elderly woman. "Oh sorry!" Elizabeth cried, "Here." She extended a hand towards the elderly woman.

"Thank you." The lady said, not at all offended. "I'm Arabella Figg. I was just reading up on some new ways to take care of cats. You know there are some fascinating books to read in there!" Mrs. Figg said. "Oh and do not believe any rumors you hear about the boy called Harry Potter the Dursleys are a nasty family and the neighbors are as well, their children are almost worse.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you like that Mrs. Figg," Elizabeth said, "I'm afraid to ask but have you ever seen Harry look happy?

"No I'm afraid I have not, not only does he look underfed but I always notice him attending to Petunia Dursley's garden and cleaning Vernon Dursley's car. I have never once seen them doing it themselves especially since Harry made his first appearance 4 years ago. He is also wearing his cousin's old clothes which do not in any way fit him." Mrs. Figg informed them. "I wouldn't advise openly interacting with the boy but whenever you can, help him. I do what I can when the Dursleys' send him to me during all their trips and vacations."

"Okay, thank you very much Mrs. Figg," John said. "We'll try to look over Harry when we can."

Arabella Figg walked away from the library at a fixed pace. "That lady smells weird but she looks nice!" Allison squeaked.

"Yes dear she does, and," Elizabeth leaned down and whispered into her daughter's ear, "Don't talk about Harry in public, we will take care of him but we can't be seen doing it."

"At least for now, eventually we're going to find out what's really going on." She added when Allison looked like she would object.

"Come on now Elizabeth, Ali, let's find some books to read." John said, he held the door open and ushered them in.

**-(*-*-) (l*-*l) (-*-*)-**

Harry was wandering the shelves for old newspapers, ancient, and medieval history books. He wanted to know, he needed to find out what was so wrong about him. He thought maybe it was magic somehow but if that was the case then how come he couldn't turn them into toads with a wave of his hand? He needed answers and he was going to find them.

He scoured the library for several hours picking books off the shelves and putting them back. Leather bound, paper bound, yellowing newspapers, nothing that described what happened with him. However in the most ancient, ancient, and medieval books and one of the oldest news papers he'd ever seen. There were tons of sources talking about random people causing strange things to happen such as hurricanes on land, tornadoes, explosions, acid raining from the sky or bubbling up in rivers. Back then it was considered wizardry or witchcraft, evil, Satan's powers.

In the medieval ages there were these great healers who would appear out of no where and perform miracles on those who were ill or dying and brought them back from the void. Although then they weren't thought of as wizards or witches as all the healing was done with herbs and liquids of the sort.

The newspapers were about 10 years old and they were talking about how people were dying with no apparent cause, their bodies just stopped working. No poisoning, no bodily malfunction, just perfectly healthy human beings dropped dead on the spot yet where they were found it would have appeared as if a bomb had gone off. Tens of thousands had died in that time. The only evidence that he supposed was related to wizards or witches was that several people appeared in robes and cloaks waving sticks and screaming. Another odd source stated how some of the nicest people who were involved in these occurrences had become blank-eyed, no thought of what they were just doing, they just attacked and killed their friends and family. The source had also apparently lost his legs in the attack, they were still attached to him but they just lost their use when a sickly-dark light blasted him in the spine.

Overall however, the media stated that a disease had gone rampant, causing people to lose their minds almost instantly and going violent, the ones who were waving sticks around were actually hired mercenaries shooting guns at everyone.

One of the most odd articles however talked about a rather odd event that happen in the southwestern part of England, in a town called Godric's Hollow. A child had told his mother about a scary man with a white snake-like face that had red eyes under black robes during Halloween believing it was a costume but the evil that seemed to emanate from 'snake-face' was far too terrifying for Halloween. That night was the last attack from the media's supposed story of gunmen. The figure described had disappeared from view one source said when they walked up to the end of the cul-de-sac and simply vanished from sight. Just minutes later, there was a flash of green light from the air, an explosion, and what looked like mist flew away from the noise. Missing residents unknown.

Harry read and reread the newspaper at the table he had set all the material on. His hands were shaking. He didn't believe that's all that happened. In his dreams he had visions of a high-cold-clear laugh and a flash of green light and that last one seemed to be the closest to describing his dream. He looked at the clock in the library, it was almost time for his Aunt Petunia's 'nap' to be over so he put all the books and newspapers away from where he found them, thanked the librarian, and rushed out the door. The Taylors' had left about an hour ago, it was about 7:45 now and he hoped he could make it back in time.

He ran through across the street, several cars honked at him yelling that his relatives were right about him. "I... can't... be... late." Harry gasped. He then had to run a long winding path around the neighborhood. His legs and lungs were burning, he hoped he could make it back and then get the supper his aunt told him to make before settling down ready in time. He was gasping for air and he just made it back to Privet Drive. He still had a minute to go. He thought about all the things they'd make him do if he didn't. A belting, a beating, or stuck doing chores whenever he was awake for the rest of his life, only allowed to go to school."I... don't... want...to" Tears threatened to burst forth but he had no energy left to cry so he wiped his eyes, opened the door, braced himself, and walked inside. Dudley had fallen asleep on the couch and he could still hear faint snoring from his aunt so he was relieved. "Oh... thank... goodness." Harry said. He fell to his knees and breathed hard. ten minutes later he felt good enough so he drank some water, changed his clothes (which wasn't saying much) to less dirty, twig-torn shirt he was wearing originally.

**-(*-*-) (l*-*l) (-*-*)-**

He got into the kitchen and began preparing the roast pork, chicken, baked potatoes, wine full glasses and a bottle left for his aunt and uncle, and a glass of milk along with a pitcher full ready for Dudley. Another was a plate full of sandwiches. He was then instructed (in case she was asleep too long) to knock on her door and then wait at the table for them. He went up the stairs, avoiding the bottom step as it creaked ominously whenever he or anyone else stepped on it. He had checked the clock in the kitchen which read 9:05

He walked up her door and then knocked on her bedroom door. *knock knock* "Aunt Petunia?" Harry said. He whispered to himself, "If she goes back on her word then this will be bad for me." He raised his hand and rapped the door again *knock knock knock* "Aunt Petunia? Supper is ready, and..." He heard Uncle Vernon's car on the driveway. "And Uncle Vernon is back now."

He heard a sigh from the other side. "Yes yes, just hurry up and get down there boy like I told you to." Her Aunt Petunia said.

He then rushed down the stairs to open the door for his uncle. "supper is ready uncle." He bowed and hung up his uncle's jacket which was thrown at him.

"Yea right boy, you better hope you don't make me mad today or else you'll go with Mrs. Figg on her trip for the rest of the summer." Vernon growled. He then went to the bathroom upstairs, his body causing the whole staircase to groan and creak. "And wake up Dudley!"

Harry turned to face his cousin on the couch who had woken up due to the shout from Vernon Dursley. He looked at Harry and simply said, "Supper's ready?"

He nodded in response. Dudley got off the couch and lumbered to his seat. He looked at the food, almost drooling. Harry quickly got three plates out and then waited anxiously for his aunt and uncle to enter. When they did he bowed to them and held their seats for Aunt Petunia, useless in the case of Uncle Vernon, and then he dished out the meal onto their plates trying to make it as clean as possible while doing so. He then sat down, head down, hands in his lap, and waited for them to start eating. That was a rule in the house. He wasn't allowed to eat until they had begun to eat and even then he was never sure. If his uncle was in a fairly good mood then he, Harry, would've been allowed to actually have more than just one sandwich.

"Are you all ready for the cruise?" Uncle Vernon asked. His tone implied he was angry and he would not allow for any failures.

"Yes dear."

"Yes dad."

"And you boy?!" Vernon growled.

"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry replied, he did not want to tend to Aunt Petunia's garden for the rest of the week.

"Good!" Vernon said. He downed his glass of wine.

"Did something happen at work dear?" Aunt Petunia asked worriedly.

"Of course something happened! Why wouldn't something happen?!" Uncle Vernon shouted, "Some bloody fools at Grunnings managed to get a contract cancelled, CANCELLED! It was our biggest one yet! And now we just lost that chance!" Uncle Vernon yelled louder. "BOY! MORE WINE!"

"Y-yes Uncle!" Harry rushed off toward the pantry. He got two more bottles, quickly uncorked them and poured a glass for his uncle, he really just wanted this day to be over.

"I mean how is that possible Petunia? WE HAVE STRICT RULES ON HOW TO DEAL WITH CONTRACTORS! AND THEY BROKE EVERY SINGLE ONE!" Uncle Vernon roared, he downed his but when he set it down, it had enough force to smash it to pieces. "BLOODY HELL!" And Vernon erupted into a rage spitting out swears. Petunia was horrified and even ushered both Harry and Dudley out of the kitchen telling them to cover their ears. No matter how much she hated Harry for his freakishness, no child should have to hear what her husband was screaming about. A few minutes later the yelling stopped and instead they heard a sob.

Petunia was a little surprised. Never in the years she had been married to Vernon had she ever heard him cry. She shushed Harry and Dudley and went back into the kitchen, the door swung open then swung shut with a click. Harry and Dudley stared at each other. Harry raced Dudley to the door, Harry opted for once for the floor position while Dudley held his ear to the door.

_"What are we going to do Petunia? I can't have these problems at work nor his unnaturalness messing up our vacation and, and we wouldn't be able to leave for 2 weeks once we get on board." _

_"We'll just have to... try not to scare him or force him into uncomfortable situations Vernon, it happened once with Lily when we were kids. I kept pressuring her on teaching me how to do things but I didn't have the power and eventually she just snapped and sent me flying far away. That's how I got this scar here... She was so horrified she tried to heal me so that my parents wouldn't know and I stopped bothering her afterwards. That was one of our last moments together, and then I found out she died 7 years ago and the last thing I had said was that she was a witch, a freak." _

_"Fine... I won't like it but we'll let him do what he likes on the cruise as long as he doesn't reveal his freak magic," Vernon sighed in a resigned manner._

Harry and Dudley heard steps moving towards the door. Harry rushed to his cupboard and jumped inside. Dudley jumped over the back of the couch. The kitchen door swung open and Petunia said, "Well supper is ruined so we'll just have to go to bed for tonight, come on Dudley."

Harry was a little shocked, not only would he get to do whatever he wished on the trip but he'd also found out about his mother! She was a witch so did that mean he was a wizard? What about his dad? The news told of a green flash of light 7 years ago. Harry often had a dream of a green jet of light. He never saw much more than that unfortunately. He listened to the thumping and creaking of the stairs signifying Dudley and Petunia heading upstairs to get ready for sleep. And eventually he managed to fall asleep, dreams plagued with a green flash of light but this time with a high cold laugh and a pleading scream.

**-(^-^-) (l^-^l) (-^-^)-**

The rest of the week passed by quickly, Harry didn't bother to go to the library anymore but he was sure he learned everything he wanted to know. His parents were both possibly witch and wizard, which meant he probably was one was well which would explain the random teleportations, transformations, explosions and disappearances of things. He wished he could get it under control but he had no way of knowing if that was even possible. He wondered if Allison was the same as him which would explain how she had an almost familiar energy which he thought she could also feel in him too. He hoped she didn't actually have the same energy as he did which would mean she would be ridiculed and bullied just like himself almost everyday.

On the day of the cruise trip, he woke up, got his trunk ready, the few new clothes that the Dursleys prepared for him so as for them to not look as though they were neglecting Harry, and waited for the inevitable ripping open of the cupboard door with either Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon yelling at him to get ready even though they knew he was.

"Boy!" It was Uncle Vernon, "We're leaving in an hour, get up and get to the car!" Uncle Vernon then hopped to the second floor, humming. Harry grabbed his trunk and made his way out the door. He dropped his trunk by the car, sat upon it, and waited. For the next hour, Harry mulled his thoughts over how he felt as though his life had changed greatly in just a week. The Dursleys basically stopped destroying him (for the time being), he had made friends (although he knew the Taylors were avoiding him or else they'd have a terrible time under the tyrannical Dursley rule), he found out about his parents' past which also made him curious. His mother and possibly his father were witch and wizard. They possibly used wands to create lights to heal or destroy. They had him, Harry, who had strange events occur whenever he wanted to get away, whenever he was scared or angry, or even hurt.

Then there was Allison. Was she a witch? Is that why she looked at him with such wide-eyed curiosty? Is that why he felt that she was similar to him? Did she have some troubled past like him? If so, is that why her and her parents moved here? He wanted to find out._  
><em>

He needed to know.

He watched as the citizens of Privet Drive, Little Whinging went about their day glaring at him, discussing new trends, taking every day life in stride. In what felt like mere minutes, he and the Dursleys got into Uncle Vernon's car and were heading towards the port of South Hampton. He then heard Aunt Petunia say, "We should be there in little over an hour, and you," She directed at Harry, "You will make yourself look smart, not wrinkled, understand?"

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry said rather bored. He was watching the country side roll past with resigned detachment from the world around him and while he would follow his aunt's words, he would not be kind. He had a lot to think about after all.

...

Back in Little Whinging Privet Drive, Allison was in her room which looked like a room expected of an eight-year old girl. The walls were light pink, her single-occupant bedding lined against the wall with one bedside cabinet holding a small lamp. She had a desk on the opposite wall piled with stuffed animals on top. She was a rather neat child, everything was clean and organized. there was a wastepaper basket by her bedside cabinet and her desk. She had moved some of her stuffed animals onto her bed and was absentmindedly playing with one of her animals.

Seeing Harry last week reminded of her life before this new one, being bullied, her parents being bullied, their stuff smashed, broken, or stolen. All because of something she did by accident, she didn't even know how she did it herself but everyone they knew apparently thought she was some dark witch bent on destroying them so they had to move to Surrey. Even though they left in the middle of the night, they were being watched. As they were just leaving their town, they were chased by a couple people in cars. They were the ones who originally discovered her "power" Even though that was the only incident that had ever occurred, ever. These people had a bag full of rocks and another full of rotten food which they threw at them staining and causing scratches on the paint and car.

Whenever she or her family was being tortured by everyone they knew, she had never cried. She was hurt a lot that they would do that to her even though just a day before they were having fun. But they managed to escape through traffic in the next town and arrived in Little Whinging just a couple days later. She was thanking whatever forces that were out there that their old neighbors didn't know about their destination while they were escaping.

After they had escaped and they finally settled in a week later. She spent the time alone in her room trying to will objects to levitate which was how her "powers" were discovered. She and her friend were seeing how high up they could throw a ball after hearing about different countries sending people up in white metal shells to the moon. Her friend threw it up a fair distance of 3 feet and then it came back down. When Allison picked up the ball, she chucked it up hard but instead of just stopping and falling after hitting probably 5 feet, it just kept on going and going. A small crowd had gathered when they shouted about it. After hitting at least 20 feet, it fell down. At this point everyone was yelling and shouting at her to die and get out of town, no abnormalities were necessary to destroy peace in their nice homely town. She ran inside the house a little scared. It got worse and worse quickly and so they left.

"Did Amy hated me too?" Allison asked aloud, rather absorbed in her thoughts. She continued to run through her memories but she didn't remember looking back when she ran inside. She then rose from her dazing round of thoughts and memory diving and focused on the task at hand. She was imagining that an invisible hand would just lightly throw it up, concentrating her will and hopefully some of that magic power on it. The most she had ever done she thought it had shaken a little bit. "Come on and fly Sir Ducky!" She said in frustration.

Soon enough she was glaring at it and saying, "Fly, fly, fly, fly, fly!" Under her breath. She couldn't stand it anymore after 5 weeks of nothing but a possible few twitches and yelled, "Why, won't, you, FLY?!" On the last word, her duck zoomed off the table and bounced into the ceiling. It then fell down a little and floated at half the distance. "Oh WOW! MOMMY LOOK AT THIS!" She shouted with glee.

She heard her mother from the other room ask, "What is it honey?"

"Just come in before it stops!"

"Alright honey," Elizabeth said.

Allison continued to stare at the floating duck in hopes that it would stay like that until she could show her mommy and daddy.

"What is it Ali-?" Elizabeth had entered her daughter's room when she saw what her daughter was so excited about. It was a floating duck, the same power that caused all the mayhem in their old town. "Ali that is, that is floating." She said in disbelief. She thought their neighbors just went crazy but this was real. Really real, she just hoped she could protect her daughter from people this time. "That's incredible Ali but you have to keep it a secret. When you go to school in September don't try and make things happen okay?"

"I'm a smart girl mommy, I know!" She said, pouting a little. Elizabeth then hurried back to her room and grabbed a camera that she had bought. She took three separate pictures of it with Allison widely grinning at the camera for her accomplishment.

"Now go to sleep Ali, we're going into the heart of the city tomorrow."

"Yes mommy." She replied. Elizabeth gave her daughter a hug and left the room and Ali said, "I hope I can show this to daddy tomorrow!" She then knocked the duck from the air and then tried again. Thinking in her mind, she concentrated again "_Fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, please fly, FLY!" _picturing Sir Ducky flying upwards slowly.

It didn't jump like last time but it twitched and jumped.

That's all she hoped for, she was happy.

A/N: That's all there is for now, so how did I do? Did I write enough? Did I describe or "talk" enough? How do you like Allison or her parents? I've started to plan things out so things should go more smoothly once Harry begins training. Was the mob of people a bit too much? Thank you for reading, please leave a review and if you do criticize me, please do it constructively. See you next week ~ !


	3. Ship and Trip

A/N: I'm sorry about the long wait, I just had so much trouble trying to write it out in words I and possibly anyone else could understand. As always, all rights belong to any and all respective owners. (First person view from now on, sorry about that, I meant to do that in the beginning) I'm so glad I was able to get this out to you but now I might take a bit of a break, just to recharge (I have been revisiting this document for the past 3 - 5 weeks writing out small words and adjusting things so... enjoy!)

_**Ship and Trip**_

_**BWAAAAAAP, BWAAAAAAP!** _

_I guess we're going to go then? _The colossal white cruise ship began to pull out from the harbor, the horn blaring out it's reverberating cry. The wind was nice but when the ship would start moving it would get a little worse. "I should stay with the Dursleys and then slip away when everyone else is busy." Harry whispered to himself, although it wasn't necessary because the wind and the crowd made it impossible to hear. Just ten minutes later, the mainland was barely visible.

_ This is a the only chance I'll get living with the Dursleys. What are you even able to do on a cruise ship? I guess I could ask someone... But who?_ Looking around, Harry saw a ton of passengers but he didn't know who to ask still. _I could ask anyone I suppose but I don't want them to think I'm weird or anything, if they do then the Dursleys will keep me inside my room for the next two weeks! _He couldn't wait to explore the place though and so he began to run at a not-out-of-place pace hoping to find something of worth. This was the one time he was glad for his uncle, he got reserved rooms first class invitations from his boss.

He glanced back at the Dursleys and stopped. They were posing in that cutesy family sort of way while someone took several photos of them. The Dursleys were happy enough to return the favor and offered to take pictures of the ones who did so for them. I felt a pang of jealousy but continued on, blinking the tears that were forming and almost threatening to form a stream away. My eyes then landed on a pool and saw several people diving off a board. Several others were simply lying on chairs, bathing in the light of the bright sun.

A heavy wind buffeted him and I fell on my face. _Ow ow ow_. I grabbed onto the rail and pulled myself up, I then began rubbing my nose, hoping the stinging pain in my face would not reach my eyes. _I hope the weather is good for the rest of the trip because this isn't helping, and why does that spirit event feel stronger now? Whatever, it must be freedom from the Dursleys that's getting to me. _I breathed in the crisp salty sea air trying to clear the weight in my chest and shook my head. _Well I can't swim and I don't see any other kids in there so I'm going back to my room._ I pushed my way past people saying 'excuse me sir' or 'excuse me ma'am' until I finally reached the door, I swung it open, slipped inside and shut it just as fast.

"Okay maybe cruises are really boring, I can't swim, there may be stuff to do later but I don't think there's anything a kid can really do except run around or eat at meal time." I looked outside the window and jumped up, eyes wide open. These gray forms were diving quickly in and out of the water, there were tens of them, hundreds of them. "I wonder what it feels like to be part of a group like that." I watched them splashing and playing, swimming alongside the ship for ten minutes before they disappeared from view.

Suddenly everything became fuzzy, my vision blurred, and I fell on my bed. "Whuzzgoinon?" I mumbled. I passed out.

-(*.*-) (-*.*-) (-*.*)-

When I woke up it was nighttime, I heard the snores of Dudley which means I missed supper. Sighing, I got up and paced around inside the room. _What was that? Why did that happen? There wasn't any reason to! _I glanced outside the window and covered my mouth to prevent the scream from erupting out of my mouth. Storm clouds, the waves were tumbling and churning in the darkness of night. _But I had heard Uncle Vernon saying that the whole trip was supposed to be clear! No storms no high tides, NOTHING!  
><em>

I quickly slipped outside and hurried to the railing, I almost slipped off the edge due to the spray of the sea crashing upon the deck. I grasped the railing with my body, I looked around and saw the crew hurrying to keep everything tied down, to try and find a way out of the storm. I heard a rumbling in the sky so I looked up and saw bright lights moving around inside the clouds. _How is anyone staying asleep in this weather? _

"Hey kid! Get back inside it's dangerous out here!" One of the crew members shouted at me through the howling wind and cold rain. He ran forwards trying to reach me.

_Why am I out here anyways, I can't do anything! _A particularly strong wave hit the ship and I finally lost my grip.

"No!"

I fell screaming into the depths. *Splash* I was forced this way and that by the currents and waves. I breathed deeply and held it when I was forced under the surface by one of the many violent waves.

_You know this actually isn't so bad, I don't feel cold at all! _I looked around but I simply saw darkness' crushing wall, the water finally forcing it's way past my breath and into my lungs. I saw the precious air escape me in large bubbles floating quickly to the surface.

I then felt a warmth envelop me, a golden glow wrapped me in it's light and then everything washed away.

(*-*) (^*-*^) (*-*)

_The last great magical war..._

_Knowledge..._

_Cursed boy..._

_Dark wizard..._

_A power he knows not..._

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches..._

My eyes flew open, I was not underwater, there was no warmth but the cold did not exist, it just was. I looked around and saw... land? I was not on the ship anymore. I heard a river rushing past me to my left. "Ugh" I groaned. Everything hurt.

"Where am I?" I said aloud to nobody.

"You are in my own personal world Mr. Harry Potter." A kind old voice replied.

I looked to my right and saw a man in robes? He was old but he felt powerful, so powerful and so familiar...

"You! You're the one I felt these past few weeks!" I exclaimed.

The old man in blue and black robes chuckled and said, "Well I'm a bit surprised you felt anything, I guess the forces needed to get you familiar with my signature before you met me officially but yet here I am. Hello Harry Potter, how are you?"

"I-I think I'm fine?" I replied, wincing as I tried getting up. I still hurt

"Oh right, sorry about that way of entry, when I had opened up the portal to bring you here, it was supposed to be smooth but as I am the only sorcerer or wizard to have ever done this, I didn't know about any setbacks, only the spell itself." The old man said. He waved his hand and I felt better immediately.

"Wh-who are you?" I scrambled up and backed away from him, even though the kind smile worn by him told of no danger.

"I am Merlin, I don't suppose you know who I am because of your relatives."

_Oh no the Dursleys are going to kill me when they find out someone knows about me!_ "Get away! I don't know you and the Dursleys-!"

"The Dursleys? Oh you mean your relatives, right, see, they won't find you, they can't find you, and why would you want that? They have tortured you for most of your life, I brought you here from the boredom of the 'cruise'

"No! You are a bad man! Get away from me!" I yelled, I made a bid for freedom even though my efforts would be futile.

"**HARRY**!" Merlin shouted. A bang blasted from nowhere and I stopped. "I am not going to hurt you! I will explain everything to you if you will just listen to me!" The man called Merlin said, his voice raised.

So I turned around, sat down, and looked at him expectantly. "I'm not going to hurt you Harry, I'm here to help and prepare you for the future, or at least your future."

_My future? Prepare me for what? _"What do you mean by 'my future'? I did nothing wrong." I said.

"I have never said that my dear boy, I'm going to start from the very beginning, that feels like the only way I can explain this to you." He replied. "Once the planet was created and humans were placed upon it, with nothing truly special about them except their minds. However one day, people around the globe discovered that they had absorbed some sort of energy which had then become a part of them which they could control on a whim. They were the first magical users and they were proud to show it off. Eventually the whole world came to know of magic and tyrants, kings and queens and rulers of all kinds set them in their armies to gain the upper hand in their wars." Merlin took a deep breath and then continued.

"This was all fine until witches and wizards began to turn on them and started attacking non-magicals, there was a small percentage of good sorcerers left but they knew that with recent events they'd all be hunted down, portrayed as dark and evil and then burned. So they left and went into hiding. For the next few centuries they remained so until they began recruiting. They had heard of a king who didn't believe all the stories and rumors that every witch and wizard were destructive and dark and so they began a trek across deserts, forests, and mountain passes."

"How did they survive?" I asked, now thoroughly enthralled.

"With their connection to the natural forces of the world, they were granted passage and safety and were blessed by the Spirit of Gaia, the one who allowed her power to leak into the world that and be absorbed by the humans. However, even though she loved them all, she was blinded by love, a lot of her power was acquired by many who wished to rule, to be the unquestioned king or queen. After hundreds upon hundreds of years of building their empire up from the ground, the dark sorcerers were ready to attack, causing the Age of Decay, the period of time in which witches and wizards were beginning to disappear, be hunted, or hide and survive. Anyhow, they managed to find the kingdom ruled by this king and he granted them their wish to build a safe house which the had named Sorcerer's Academy." Merlin smiled a little at the thought of how that place saved his life.

"But what was the point of this story?" I asked, none of it made sense, what's the point of telling me history?

"The whole point of the story is that as the dark sorcerers' used Gaia's power for evil, she was weakened in the process. Now all she can do is watch her beloved children fight to the death. , this is where you come in Harry," Merlin said, his gaze set on Harry.

"I had received a vision me telling about you thousands of years ago, the same vision seen by another, my closest friend. This vision, or prophecy as I believe it's called, told that a boy cursed a year after birth would rise up and defeat a dark wizard whom I believe is called Voldemort, the Dark Lord, He Who Shall not be Named, or You Know Who. When you attend a certain magical school, you shall end up fighting Voldemort for the duration of your time there. After that, who knows, the victory has yet to be decided and the future afterwards. This battle, this war for the next 7 years will determine the balance of good and evil. Should you fail, Gaia shall be turned inside out, against her will, becoming evil and she shall destroy everything that you or I or anyone else knows or loves. That was the point of the story, this is your purpose, what do you wish to do Harry?" Merlin asked me, I had listened with rapt attention and understood everything he said.

I stayed silent thinking about it, what to do? I stayed silent so long that even Merlin began to look uncomfortable so he sat down, stood up, walked around, sat back down. He was about to get up again when I began to talk. "My life has been horrible for as long as I can remember. I have had dreams possibly about Voldemort trying to kill me, then I wake up under the roof of the Dursleys, some of the most awful people I've ever met, so unpleasant, so twisted, forcing me to do all their work, spreading rumors to get everyone else to hate me, especially my cousin Dudley at school..." I said. I stopped for a moment. Seeing all of them happy together but when they remembered me, they stared back with hatred, with disdain, I cried a long when I was younger but now I was just uncomfortable about it, not happy at all to continue on. "My life has been hell, I had thought of giving up, leaving my life behind early than normal, but I've met people who I believe are worth fighting for." I looked up from my hands that were gathered in my lap and saw Merlin's eyes, shining with hope but not daring to go further.

"To answer your question, I will fight Voldemort!" _And force the Dursleys to see all the scars I have gotten over the years.__  
><em>

**. . .**

"Follow me Harry, we are going to begin your training now." Merlin gestured for Harry to follow him.

While walking, Harry saw several buildings and platforms of varying heights yet all made of the same ancient-style architecture and materials. They seemed to be heading for a platform that was about five meters up high with a wooden staircase. He noticed Merlin looking back with a slight curiosity. "Well Harry, any questions thus far?"

"Just one, what is this world?" I asked, I didn't understand how this world worked, was it a hidden place set on Earth or was it just a large building hidden underground but based above ground?

"This world is created from a spell, an ancient spell that has been lost to the ages, I was the last one to use it. It is a world that is set in an empty dimension, void of anything, but when the world is... stopped, then both of us shall return to our original timelines from where we left off. There is more to tell you but that will come in due time. I believe the time you shall spend here will take about two years in the real world." Merlin answered.

"Oh..."

"This platform is where I'll teach you defense and offense of the mind or more commonly known now in the wizarding world as occlumency and legilimency. This is where I'll teach you wandless and willed magic." Merlin said.

"What's the difference between wandless and willed magic?" I asked the old man.

"Oh yes, it must seem confusing doesn't it? Wandless magic means being able to perform spells without a wand but it is far easier with a wand yet not as powerful, it can also be combined with silent or non-verbal magic. Willed magic is where you simply wish for things to happen based upon the image or thoughts from your head with no need of a spell or wand but nearly no one ever uses it these days as it is very difficult, most purposes are suited by everyday wand magic and spells. There is also 'normal' magic where you use a wand, wave it in a certain way and speak an incantation. Most spells can be 'used' by wand magic and wandless magic, certain spells old and new are impossible to use without a wand.

"Oh, okay." I said quietly.

It was as though this turned my whole view of the world upside-down, I had only reacted how I did earlier because of being raised by the Dursleys. But everything Merlin said made everything else make sense. Voldemort had invaded my house and killed my parents, he also I think tried to kill me but couldn't. I wonder why?

"What should I be learning first?" I asked the great old man in blue robes.

"First? Just how to organize your thoughts and clearing your mind. After that I'll try to help you defend your mind and after we master that, we'll try breaking into my mind, don't worry, we won't be learning this for the long time that we'll be here." Merlin replied. He smiled. It was as though he was reflecting on the past when he had students he loved to teach.

"Oh alright."

I walked up the steps, the platform was just... floating there, no pillars at the four corners holding it up. It didn't creak or sway in the wind (which was somehow there even though the limited world was visible and there was no reason for wind to blow), in fact, it felt rather steady for an ancient building.

We reached the top, Merlin led me to the center of the platform and gestured for me to sit down on chairs he just conjured up. "I'm going to try and teach you Occlumency, defense of the mind first, it is used as defense of the mind against possible invaders. Occlumency is not only useful for defense but for organizing your thoughts and memories. Generally, people nowadays rarely bother to learn this piece of magic as it is not only very advanced but also its knowledge has disappeared."

"What does that mean sir?" I asked him. _Disappeared? Does that mean gone forever or is it just too hard to practice so it all just melted away?_

"Disappeared as in the highest majority of occlumency users were during the age where all magicals and non-magicals thrived in harmony until the Age of Decay where all magical knowledge was hunted and burned to the ground. Only a handful of the large group of survivors retained any know-how of occlumency which is why it is still just barely alive today."

"Are the remaining few in Britain?" I asked.

"Yes and no Harry, the remaining few who still had the ability decided to stay in the area while those without it decided to explore and cross the seas to discover new lands to work their magic in silence while the Age of Decay continued to happen." Merlin answered.

"Yes and no?" When I thought he'd answer yes, I'd think that would mean they would literally be within that area.

"Yes because one man, incredibly old yet powerful. He even defeated a dark lord at that time, however the scale of that war was not as big as the one you'll have to face and then his colleague who is employed under him and no because while I do detect the presence of the third, he is scattered throughout the land. I have gotten the feeling from this third that he may be the great darkness you shall face in the real world."

_All this talk of me being the 'hero' of this war is too much. How can I do this even if I train under one of the greatest sorcerers in the history of all humans?__  
><em>

"I know you must feel uncomfortable right? An eight year old child who just learned of his past and of his destiny. The role he must play. It must feel like it's too much isn't it? To have to be the hero." Merlin's voice came out of his mouth as though he was empathizing with me. I looked up and shockingly I saw the look I always felt like I wearing.

"How can I do it? Even if I have people to fight for and your training, I'm fighting in the last Great War as you said!" I nearly shouted out even though no one but Merlin and I would hear.

"I do not know but it is up to you. Morgana, my cousin which I found out as I fought her, was one of the dark sorcerers who caused the worst damage after the Age of Decay, the first 'Great War'. I didn't know if I could do it either because she had trained and practiced longer than I ever had but I managed to defeat her eventually. Her 'rampage' won't be as devastating as what Voldemort has already done. He has already caused a war and destroyed a hundred of the non-magical or muggles and the magical community while she only destroyed a few villages of a few tens of thousands of people before I was sent in with an army. If you persist, gain friends and allies and when the final battle arrives... gather an army. Persistence and... love is the key Harry."

"Unless I train for as long as Voldemort has, his experience and power will outclass mine!" I argued.

"I had cast all sensory spells I knew on you the moment I brought you here, the power of your core is restricted by something dark but it is still potent enough that if you made yourself nonexistent, the energy that your magical core contains would cause a massive explosion destroying a small island. Your strength is not the issue here, it is simply your knowledge and experience. That is what you shall learn and train against me until you're more than fit to destroy Voldemort's entire army." Merlin replied calmly back.

"But how would we get it all done in time?" I said resignedly.

"This world will only throw you two to three years into the future from when you left no matter the passage of time in that world so that your new appearance which will grow at a largely slower rate in here won't be odd for a ten or eleven year old than out there but your mind shall grow as it should. This should give you plenty of time to train and grow. If you wish to remain with a childish yet mature mind, I am more than fine to keep it so when you leave this world."

"Oh okay then." I said, my mood brightening a little more.

"Now then, onto business, you have to learn how to defend your mind not only from Voldemort to server the possible connection you have to him and his lieutenants and soldiers. That means you have to learn to empty your mind, clear your thoughts, and build walls to surround the powerful strike of an enemy or multiple enemies." I will continue to use legilimens as a way to force your mind to learn to cope to stress and so that you can learn from experience how an invasive and powerful mind feels and to block anything even remotely invasive on a whim. Do you understand?"

"So it'll be like after years of fighting I could fight enemies even if I was blind?" I asked back.

"In a way, yes it is as you can't actually see your enemy's mind."

"Now when I do cast the legilimens spell on you, I will be able to see your memories

The word was spoken, the spell was cast. And my vision changed. I began seeing flashes of memories of my life with the Dursleys. I saw myself saying coherent sentences playing with toys and walking and then Aunt Petunia yelling at me making me cry.

It passed and then I saw myself at Dudley's fifth birthday party with Aunt Marge whacking my shins with a stick during Musical Statues.

I then remember getting nearly beaten to death by Uncle Vernon during a drunken rage when he was about 6 years old and then was fully healed just a day later. All of these flashes of memories passed by in mere seconds but it felt as though I was reliving them.

Something passed over my eyes and my vision readjusted. It was back to normal, no memories just Merlin in his chair and me slumped in my own, crying.

"Well that was a little..." Merlin said, he stopped and conjured up a handkerchief and held it out to me. I didn't say anything but instead of accepting it I wiped my eyes with my sleeve.

"Does it always look so dark?" I asked.

"You mean why does the world look so dark?" I nodded. "It is not so much as dark as the fact that you're being hit by a spell cast by a very, very powerful wizard. But you should feel lucky. Normally one would feel literal pain if the spell caster was extremely powerful such as myself, that old man, his colleague, and your enemy. Only 2 others apart from themselves are as powerful as I but I can't see nor find them. Anyhow, another factor is that you haven't been exposed to this sort of magic before so you would see your own memories just as I was but after the first few times and with practice, your vision wouldn't even turn black. The only notice would be pressure on your forehead so you'd know to immediately throw your shields up. However do not confuse this with headaches as the pain is from within."

"So I won't have to see that every time?" I asked back. Seriously though, what if it stays like this?

"That is correct unless the invader is ruthless and hateful and won't bother with subtlety in order to get the information that he or she wants." Merlin replied. "Now, shall we continue? Continue to clear your mind, do not think, just feel as though there is a wall and focus on that empty space."

"Um... okay?" I tried to do as he said but clearing my mind felt impossible and the wall was even worse, I couldn't do either of those at the same time and it was frustrating.  
><em><br>"Legilimens."_

The world turned dark and my vision blurred once again. I don't like how this feels. I continue to see random memories flashing by in an instant but I'm reliving them... Please... just... STOP!.

A burst of sound and light erupted and I was shaken back to reality, Merlin and I blasted apart from each other. Well I mean I was but he was still sitting in his chair, comfortable as could be with a look on his face as though he was trying to hold back a laugh. I was shocked to find out that I managed to stop the barrage of memories that I lay down and began laughing hard, this triggered Merlin to begin laughing too. We continued for a while and finally that joyous sound stopped.

Merlin stood up from his chair, walked over to me, and offered his hand. I grabbed it he pulled me up. I was grinning, I had never smiled or laughed that hard in my life! I walked over and grabbed the chair that had fallen over and put it back where it was before that blast. "And already you're improving, you already repelled me, is there something that particularly helped with that?" Merlin asked.

I answered immediately and my mood darkened a little,"I was reliving those memories and I wanted it to stop, I don't want to remember them, I just want to forget them..."

At these words Merlin almost replied immediately but then I said, "But I can't... If I do I would change, and I don't want to become a bad guy, I have a friend and family now and I can't wait until I can see them again..." Merlin let out a silent sigh of relief. "Did something happen to you?" I asked. I noticed something odd every time I talked about something and Merlin continued to make facial expressions or body movements that signaled as if he could relate to them in some form.

"A long time ago when I first discovered I was a wizard, I was ecstatic about the new possibilities the world held for me and my closest friend. However during our life time we suffered. We were no more than the lowest of thieves and the homeless and so I received tons of painful memories, being left out in the cold while it rained or snowed. Very rarely did anyone help us and one year it was the worst of times as the world was changing, people everywhere knew something bad would happen so they rarely extended their hand out to help. This year, me and my friend got sick from the worst disease ever recorded in history at the time and it felt like nothing would change, that we would die without some goodness in our life. Some how the disease wasn't deadly or at least it took a while to kill because some people really did die from it however one night during a moment of peace from the disease, I had this strange vision of a woman bathed in warm glowing light. I don't remember what she said even back then but when I woke up, I felt better than I had since I remember, so did my friend Cicero." Merlin said. He paused for an uncomfortable moment but when he began talking again, his tone improved a little in warmth.

"I wished to forget those memories but I didn't want to forget, else I'd forget about the only one who made me want to live. The temptation was there though when I learned the different magics necessary to perform the act, and I threw together several scenarios where I did 'forget them' and I only noticed destruction. What I saw made me shut down that path and if I ever try to do so again would cause immediate self-destruction." Merlin then said, his voice became stern, his serious eyes becoming... more serious.

"Just remember Harry, the easiest path could easily lead you to a path of destruction and change for the worse and if you manage to somehow escape from it, the world would be broken due to your actions."

...

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long, I had no idea what to write or how to get it out, I have everything planned I swear, it's just words that take forever. I hope you enjoy chapter 3 and I'll try to get chapter 4 out before December but no promises.


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